Appreciating the idea of organising conference on tribal health, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “We usually try to focus on health of the tribals, which is the need of the hour. But it is not the only issue. The problems of the tribals are multi-dimentional. We need to deal with those in a detailed manner. All the departments of Maharashtra will join Maharashtra University of Health Sciences and All India Institute of Medical Sciences in drafting a comprehensive tribal policy.”

 

Fadnavis was speaking during the valedictory function of tribal health conference MUHS FIST-25 organised by MUHS in collaboration with AIIMS, Nagpur at AIIMS premises, on Sunday. Vice-Chancellor of MUHS Lt Gen Dr Madhuri Kanitkar, AVSM, PVSM and AVM; Chair Professor Dr Sanjeev Chaudhary, AIIMS Nagpur Executive Director Dr P P Joshi, Pro-Vice Chancellor Dr Milind Nikumbh, Registrar Dr Rajendra Bangal, Academic Council Member Dr Darshan Dakshindas were seated on the dais. Devendra Fadnavis expressed his belief that if traditional tribal treatment and modern medicine from various areas are considered and applied together, solutions can be found regarding providing basic health facilities to the tribals. Fadnavis said that the discussions generated from the first international conference will be important. It will be possible to determine a common policy through this brainstorming. “Maharashtra Government will provide full cooperation to ensure the effective implementation of the policy at the State, National and global levels. Worldwide, there are some countries which face major issues regarding tribals. Our comprehensive document should be helpful to them also,” felt Fadnavis.

 

Despite Government’s efforts, the issues like malnutrition still persist, for which Fadnavis expressed concern. Government feels applying traditional methods of the tribal areas and the local diet there can lead to eradication of malnutrition plus various schemes. “Even today there are basic issues like malnutrition, sickle cell and malaria haunting tribal dominated areas. But several different measures are being implemented by the State Government and the Central Government and they are also getting success,” explained Fadnavis. Lieutenant General Madhuri Kanitkar (Retd) said that the MUHS FIST-25 conference will be important in addressing the health problems of the tribals. The data collected through this conference will be important for policy formulation.

 

The ‘Blossom’ project has been directly implemented in the tribal areas and in collaboration with ‘AIIMS’, she said that MUHS FIST-25 will open new doors. Dr Prashant Joshi said in his introduction that the conference launched by the University of Health Sciences and ‘AIIMS’ for the health problems of the tribals will definitely make a name for itself at the global level. Dr Sanjeev Chaudhary, Organising Secretary of MUHS FIST-25 who was felicitated for conceptualising the idea of Blossom and tribal health conference, expressed his gratitude towards Dr Kanitkar and Devendra Fadnavis. The programme was compered by Dr Darshan Dakshindas and the vote of thanks was proposed by MUHS FIST-25 Organising Committee Member Dr Sandeep Rathod.